Hot Lotto

January 16, 2015

Here is video of the announcement that fraud charges have been filed in the strange story of the Hot Lotto® jackpot won in December 2010 in Des Moines and claimed a year later, only to have that claim later withdrawn.

January 15, 2015

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation announced today that charges have been filed in the case of that Hot Lotto jackpot won back in December 2010 in Des Moines. Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich was part of the DCI news conference where the charges were announced and made the following statement:

“We’re disappointed to learn that someone who has worked as a vendor in the lottery industry has been charged in this case. At the same time, we’re gratified that the thorough procedures and protocols we’ve developed to protect the security and integrity of our games worked to prevent the payment of a disputed prize.

This truly is one of the strangest situations in the history of lotteries. We believe this is the largest lottery jackpot ever to be claimed, only to have that claim later withdrawn.

The charges in this case focus on possible fraud attempts as the prize was being claimed.

We have strong security procedures in place to protect and ensure the integrity of our games. And we absolutely believe this case indicates that those processes worked to protect lottery players, lottery games and lottery prizes.

It was the right thing for our lottery to refuse to pay this jackpot prize unless or until basic security questions about it could be answered – and they never were. There will always be people who try to beat the system. We have and will continue to update our security procedures as we identify vulnerabilities to protect against them.”

More than four years ago, a man bought a Hot Lotto ticket at a convenience store on Des Moines’ north side. That ticket went on to win the multi-million-dollar jackpot on the line in the Hot Lotto drawing on Dec. 29 of that year. For nearly a year, the prize went unclaimed.

Then, with less than two hours to go before the prize would have expired on Dec. 29, 2011, the winning ticket was presented by lawyers on behalf of a New York investment trust that had been established to benefit a corporation in the country of Belize. Neither the two lawyers who presented the ticket nor anyone associated with Hexham Investments Trust of Bedford, N.Y., would provide the basic details necessary to verify that the ticket had been legally purchased, legally possessed and legally presented. Those involved said they could not identify the jackpot winner or the man who purchased the winning ticket.

That standard information is routinely requested from jackpot winners in Iowa as part of the lottery’s security processes to comply with both state law and lottery game rules. Such details are usually received within minutes at the time a winning ticket is presented.

On Jan. 26, 2012, Crawford Shaw, a New York attorney who identified himself as the trustee of Hexham Investments Trust, withdrew the claim to the jackpot. The Iowa Lottery requested that the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation open a criminal investigation into the matter.

The money from the jackpot, which totaled nearly $10.8 million in cash, was returned to the lotteries in the Hot Lotto game in proportion to the sales from each jurisdiction. The Iowa Lottery received about $1.4 million back and gave the money away in a special summer promotion called “Mystery Millionaire” in 2012.

The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is a lottery vendor organization based in Urbandale, Iowa. It was established in 1987 to handle the day-to-day functions in multi-state games on behalf of many U.S. lotteries, including the Iowa Lottery. MUSL is officially defined as a government-benefit, non-profit association entirely owned and operated by its 37 member lotteries. MUSL is overseen by its board of directors, which is made up of the directors of all its member lotteries.

As a vendor organization, MUSL administers seven lottery games, including Hot Lotto. Among other responsibilities, MUSL carries out lottery game drawings and hosts the websites of many U.S. lotteries. MUSL has 13 staff members, and Eddie Tipton has worked there since 2003, currently serving as its director of information security. Under Iowa law, a person working in that area is among those barred from playing the lottery or claiming a lottery prize because they have access to confidential information about lottery games.

October 09, 2014

You likely have heard by now that there’s a new development in the long-running investigation into the Hot Lotto mystery here in Iowa. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has released surveillance-camera footage of the jackpot-winning ticket being purchased back in December 2010 in an attempt to identify the man buying the ticket.

Click here to see the DCI statement today. And click here to see the surveillance-camera footage.

The Iowa Lottery remains fully supportive of the efforts by the DCI in this case. We continue to provide as much information and help we can as we partner with them in this investigation.

After Hexham Investments Trust, the entity with ties to the country of Belize, withdrew its claim to this jackpot back in January 2012, the money from the jackpot was returned to the lotteries in the Hot Lotto game in proportion to the percentage of sales from each state. You’ll likely remember that the Iowa Lottery gave away its share of that money in the “Mystery Millionaire” promotion that concluded with a huge prize give-away at the 2012 Iowa State Fair. It was incredibly fun to see the prize money ultimately wind up with players right here in Iowa. That’s how the process is supposed to work!

This has been – and continues to be – one of the biggest lottery mysteries in the country, likely even the world. It’s certainly the strangest situation we can recall in our lottery’s 29-year history. We know from the hundreds of contacts we’ve received since this jackpot-winning ticket was purchased back in December 2010 that there’s intense interest in this situation. We believe this is the largest lottery jackpot ever claimed and then withdrawn.

You’ll likely remember that the winning ticket in this case was presented to the lottery with less than two hours to go before the prize-claim period would have expired in December 2011. But we never were provided with the basic information necessary to confirm that the winning ticket was legally purchased, legally possessed and legally presented.

It appears that a person or a group of people may have attempted to commit fraud against the lottery and the state of Iowa. And while there was $16.5 million involved in this particular jackpot, the prizes in some of our other games obviously have been many times that amount.

Know this: We will continue to ensure that we have systems in place to protect the lottery and its resources against fraud attempts. We remain ever cognizant of our duty to protect the integrity of the Iowa Lottery and its games.

October 03, 2014

Here’s a question to ponder as we head into the weekend. It came to us from a man named Matt on Facebook. He posted, “Random question that has always bugged me. Why is it called ‘Iowa Lottery’ when it’s the exact same lottery as other states?”

Now, that’s a good one! I think Matt is partly right and partly wrong. Here’s why:

It is true that you can buy tickets in Iowa in games that are sold in multiple states, including Powerball®, Mega Millions®, Hot Lotto® and All or Nothing™. But you also can buy lottery games here in our state that are completely unique to Iowa, including most of our scratch games and pull-tab games.

And bottom line, all of the proceeds from the sale of lottery tickets in the state of Iowa stay right here to benefit worthy Iowa causes. Since its start in 1985, the Iowa Lottery has raised more than $1.5 billion for the state programs that help us all. Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans and their families through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund; help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund; and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.

September 09, 2014

Something pretty unusual happened in the world of lotteries over the weekend: A jackpot that had been growing for nearly a year finally got hit.

It happened Saturday in Hot Lotto®. A Minnesota couple stepped forward today to claim that night’s $11.71 million Hot Lotto jackpot. And remember, with the changes put in place in the game in May 2013, they get that full amount. The unique feature in Hot Lotto that sets it apart from our other draw games is that its jackpot is all cash, with withholding taxes paid. That means you get the full amount of the advertised jackpot.

Prior to Saturday’s big win, the Hot Lotto jackpot had last been won in October 2013 in Tennessee. That definitely qualifies as a very long jackpot run! But that’s the thing about jackpots – you never know when the next big one will hit!

Hot Lotto got its start in April 2002 as a game that offers Powerball®-style play, but with easier odds and jackpots starting at $1 million. Players choose five balls from a pool of 47 and another number, called the Hot Ball®, from a separate pool of 19. Plays cost $1, and the Sizzler option, which triples non-jackpot prizes, can be added for an extra $1 per play. Hot Lotto drawings are held at 9:40 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

In addition to the jackpot, there are eight other prize levels in the game, ranging from $2 for matching the Hot Ball alone and up to $30,000 for matching the first five numbers but missing the Hot Ball. All nonjackpot prizes triple with the Sizzler option, meaning a player would win $90,000 for matching the first five numbers with the Sizzler option added.

So, congratulations to the big winners in Minnesota! And in case you’re wondering, Iowa may not have taken home this jackpot, but our state is doing very well in Hot Lotto. Iowa Lottery players have won eight jackpots so far in the game, ranging from $1.3 million all the way up to $19.97 million!

August 20, 2014

It’s been a very, very good week so far for our players. The numbers tell the tale: On Monday and Tuesday alone, Iowa Lottery players claimed nearly 40 prizes ranging from $1,000 up to $1 million! We don’t know what’s in the water, but we like it!

Monday’s winners included 14 players who claimed prizes of $1,000 each in several different scratch games and two who claimed prizes of $1,400 in the “Ruby Red 7’s” scratch game. Two more players – Cheryl McMahan of Glenwood and Aurea Perez Morales of Oakland – each claimed prizes of $10,000 that day, while Michael McGee of Cherokee claimed a $21,000 prize. Diane Leahy of Cedar Rapids claimed a $25,000 prize on Monday, Violet Reimer of Clinton won a $30,000 prize and Troy McCumber of Ionia claimed a $50,000 prize. And you’ve likely already heard about the Johnston siblings who claimed a $1 million prize that day in Mega Millions®.

Whew.

And yesterday brought in even more winners! Eleven players claimed prizes of $1,000 each yesterday, again in several different scratch games. Jessica Davis of Cambridge and Tonya Taylor of Waterloo each claimed a $3,000 prize in the “Crossword” game, and Thomas Gage of Lansing and Lana Dallman of Dickens each claimed a $3,000 prize in Hot Lotto®. Adam Hansen of Forest City rounded out yesterday’s list, claiming a $5,000 prize in the “Big Money Multiplier” scratch game.

As you can see, the winners have been from all over the state, keeping each of our regional offices busy. We’ve got the lights on and the doors open again today! Can’t wait to see who comes through the door to see us. Will it be YOU?

June 30, 2014

Lottery players in Iowa were on a roll Saturday night, winning five big prizes ranging from $10,000 up to $90,000 in Powerball® and Hot Lotto® -- and the prizes were spread out around the state!

Someone who bought a ticket at a central Iowa convenience store won the biggest lotto prize of the night – a $90,000 prize in the Hot Lotto game. That winning ticket was purchased at Casey’s, 4151 Merle Hay Road in Des Moines. Whoever bought the ticket initially matched the first five numbers but missed the Hot Ball to win a $30,000 prize. But the winner(s) also added the Sizzler option to the play, which multiplied the prize to $90,000.

The winning numbers in Saturday night’s Hot Lotto drawing were: 1-9-18-20-21 and Hot Ball 14. The Sizzler number was 3.

The other four big prizes in Saturday night’s lotto drawings all hit in the Powerball game, with Iowa players winning two $20,000 prizes and two $10,000 prizes.

The $20,000-winning tickets each initially won a $10,000 prize by matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. But whoever bought the tickets also added the Power Play option, which multiplied each prize to $20,000. The $10,000-winning tickets did not have the Power Play option added to them.

Here is where those winning tickets were purchased:

$20,000-winning tickets

Quillin’s Food Ranch

Hy-Vee

9 Ninth St. SW

4000 University Ave.

Waukon

Waterloo

$10,000-winning tickets

Hy-Vee C-Store

Fast Stop

8607 Douglas Ave.

912 Central Ave.

Urbandale

Northwood

The winning numbers in Saturday night’s Powerball drawing were: 8-12-34-43-56 and Powerball 9. The Power Play number was 2.

June 13, 2014

I got a really good question here on the blog yesterday that I’m turning into its own blog entry because other people have likely wondered the same thing.

A blog reader named Florence sent this comment: “I am confused concerning the Power Play on the Powerball game. I always pay extra & get the Power Play, too. Twice now I have hadthe Power Play. On Saturday, June 7th, it was 2 and last night it was 5. I took the ticket in to have it checked, and it said ‘ticket not a winner.’ Why pay extra for the Power Play if you receive nothing?’”

Good for Florence for trying something new! If you’ve wondered about the Power Play®, too, here’s the 411 on it: It’s an option in the Powerball® game that costs an extra $1 per play. The Power Play multiplies any prize you win except the jackpot.

For the Power Play to kick in, you first have to win a prize in a Powerball drawing. If you win a prize and you've added the Power Play option to your play, your prize will be multiplied by the Power Play number in that particular drawing.

Here are a couple examples:

Let’s say you’ve added the Power Play to your ticket but you didn't win a prize. In that case, nothing more happens – you didn't win anything, so there’s no prize for the Power Play to multiply.

But let's say that 1.) You win a $100 prize by matching four of the first five numbers selected, 2.) you have the Power Play on your ticket, and 3.) the Power Play number that comes up is 4. Your initial $100 would be multiplied by 4, so you’d ultimately win a $400 prize because you added the Power Play option!

We also cover this topic in our "How To Play" video for the Powerball game, if you’re more of a visual learner. Click here to see that video.

There are similar multiplier options in the Mega Millions® and Hot Lotto® games as well. In Mega Millions, it’s called the Megaplier® and in Hot Lotto, the option is called the Sizzler®.

Good luck with your lottery tickets and we hope to see you claim a big prize soon!

October 09, 2013

News has spread just about everywhere this week that there are new developments in the investigation into that multi-million-dollar Hot Lotto® jackpot here in Des Moines that ultimately was forfeited last year.

It's definitely a case that continues to fascinate, as evidenced by the news coverage you'll see here, here and here, to point out just a few.

The updates in the case are coming from the Iowa Attorney General's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Those are the entities that launched the criminal investigation after those who’d initially claimed the jackpot later walked away from it.

Here at the lottery, we remain in contact with those conducting the investigation and continue to believe that we did the right thing. We believe we acted appropriately to protect the security and integrity of the Iowa Lottery and the millions of dollars at stake in our games.

Just where will this story that's been building since December 2010 ultimately lead? Only time will tell!

October 07, 2013

Get out your lottery tickets and double-check them! There’s a little less than a month to go until the expiration date for an unclaimed $10,000 lottery prize that was won in Le Mars. Do YOU have the winning ticket?

The unclaimed prize was won nearly a year ago in the Hot Lotto® game by someone who bought a ticket at Casey’s, 101 Fifth Ave. SW in Le Mars. The lucky ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Hot Ball in the drawing on Oct. 31, 2012, to win a $10,000 prize. The winning numbers that night were: 17-26-27-30-37 and Hot Ball 17.

The winner or winners have until the close of business at 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 of this year to claim the prize at one of our offices.

Hot Lotto is played in Iowa, 14 other states and the District of Columbia. The game was revamped in May, and it now has an all-cash jackpot with withholding taxes paid, meaning that if the advertised jackpot is $2 million, the winner will receive a one-time, lump-sum payment for that full amount.

In addition to the change in the jackpot, several other prize levels in the game were also increased. The eight non-jackpot prize levels in the redesigned game range from $2 (unchanged) for matching the Hot Ball alone up to $30,000 (formerly $10,000) for matching the first five numbers but missing the Hot Ball. All nonjackpot prizes still triple with the additional $1 Sizzler option, meaning a player would win $90,000 for matching the first five numbers with the Sizzler option added.

Prizes that expire without being claimed in Iowa go into the lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions. So, the money will be used to pay prizes, just not those particular prizes that have expired. How much money are we talking about? During fiscal year 2013, nearly $1.4 million in prizes expired without being claimed in Iowa lotto games.

August 06, 2013

You may have heard about our Hot Lotto game and wondered, “How do I play that game?” We’re pretty sure you’re not the only one to ask that question. So we came up with a “How to Play Hot Lotto” video that explains how you go about purchasing a Hot Lotto ticket. Check out our short video on how to play and see if you feel like you’ve got a pretty good understanding of how to play the game by the time the video is over.

And not to worry, plans are already in the works for other “How to Play” videos for our other games, too!

July 12, 2013

A player just called about a topic that I realized I should share with you here on the blog as well so you can learn from his experience.

The man who contacted us was upset that some of the lotto tickets he’d purchased didn’t contain the plays he wanted. He’d just verbally told the person working at the store what plays he wanted and he didn’t look at his tickets until he had driven somewhere else. We went over a few tips with him that I hope can help you as well.

Always keep in mind that using a play slip can help ensure accuracy in the plays you’re purchasing, especially if you’re buying a lot of tickets at once. The play slip can help keep things straight for both you and the folks working the store. For example, if you want to buy Hot Lotto® easy-pick plays for the next 10 drawings with the Sizzler option added, you can fill out a play slip to indicate all of that by marking the “Sizzler” and “multi-draw” options. It’s quick and easy to do, and your purchase will be clearly marked on the play slip. The lottery terminal will print out the tickets that correspond to your play slip and you’ll be in and out of the store in no time!

It’s also important to check the tickets you’ve just purchased before you leave the store so you know for sure that you’ve gotten the plays you wanted. That way if there is an issue, you can alert store staffers right away and they can get you a ticket with the right plays on it.

June 21, 2013

Just a light-hearted note to let you know that the jackpot amount in Hot Lotto is a safe number for Saturday night’s drawing, so it’s OK to play!

I didn’t point this out before Wednesday’s drawing because I didn’t want to spook people, but some folks noticed anyway that the jackpot estimate that night was $6.66 million. We even heard from people who asked if we could change the estimate so “that number” wouldn’t be involved in the drawing. The short answer was no, we couldn’t adjust the jackpot simply because some people are superstitious about that number. The jackpot estimate is based on actual sales, so it remained unchanged heading into Wednesday’s drawing.

There was no jackpot winner Wednesday night, so Hot Lotto’s big prize has climbed to an estimated $6.71 million for tomorrow night’s drawing. That’s better, right?

The redesign in Hot Lotto took effect on May 15, and Iowa already has its first $90,000 winner! She’s Karon McDowell of Indianola and she’s one happy lady! Click here to see the story of Karon’s big win.

Now the real question is: Will Iowa have the first all-cash jackpot winner in the game?

May 13, 2013

We’ve got all kinds of jackpot news to talk about right now! Here’s a quick rundown:

You’ve probably heard that the Powerball® jackpot is really getting up there. It’s reached an estimated $350 million for Wednesday’s drawing. That’s the third-largest jackpot in the history of the game. Not too shabby!

And Mega Millions® also is rolling, with that jackpot growing to an estimated $170 million for tomorrow night’s drawing.

And then there’s Hot Lotto®, which just got a make-over and has a new promo offering prizes of free gas to go along with its new look. We blogged about those changes for the first time back in early April, but here are those details again:

Hot Lotto’s make-over took effect yesterday, upgrading the jackpot to a cash-only prize with withholding taxes paid. That means that if the advertised jackpot is $2 million, the winner will receive a one-time, lump-sum payment for that full amount. To be more specific, the current Hot Lotto jackpot is an estimated $6.16 million for Wednesday’s drawing. If you match all six numbers and are the only winner nationwide for that big prize, you will take home $6.16 million.

The revamped game is being introduced with a special promotion offering 85 prizes of free gas. The “3X the Sizzle” promotion means players can purchase three Hot Lotto plays with the Sizzler for $5 (a regular $6 value) and have the chance to enter a drawing for up to $500 in free gas.

When you purchase a 3X the Sizzle ticket, the lottery terminal will automatically generate a trailing ticket containing a special code that you’ll need to enter on the lottery website for a chance to win ethanol promotional checks for free fuel from the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

You can purchase 3X the Sizzle tickets through July 13 and enter the promotion until noon on July 23 at www.ialottery.com.

We’ll select 85 winners of ethanol checks in a drawing July 25. Fifty players will each win $100 in ethanol checks for free gas; 25 each will win $250 in checks; and 10 each will win $500 in checks.

The numbers available to play in Hot Lotto have changed with the new version of the game. You now choose five balls from a pool of 47 (it was 39) and another number, called the Hot Ball®, from a separate pool of 19 (unchanged). The minimum Hot Lotto jackpot is $1 million cash with state and federal withholding taxes paid, and grows until someone wins it.

The five Destination Iowa winners will be drawn on Wednesday. So keep your fingers crossed!

And, as if that’s not enough fun for you, some big jackpots are on the line this weekend, too! Tonight’s Mega Millions® jackpot is at an estimated $103 million. And Saturday’s jackpots for Hot Lotto® and Powerball® are big, too. Hot Lotto is at an estimated $5.28 million and Powerball has reached an estimated $140 million! Man, that’s a lot of dough!

So get out there and have some fun already, no matter what you’re doing this weekend!

April 05, 2013

An updated version of the Hot Lotto game will debut next month along with a special promotion tied to the game that will offer prizes of free gas.

Starting May 12, Hot Lotto’s jackpot will be a cash-only prize with withholding taxes paid. That means that if the advertised jackpot is $2 million, the winner will receive a one-time, lump-sum payment for that full amount.

The revamped game will be introduced with a special promotion this spring and summer offering 85 prizes of free gas. The “3X the Sizzle” promotion will mean players can purchase three Hot Lotto plays with the Sizzler for $5 (a regular $6 value) and have the chance to enter a drawing for up to $500 in free gas.

Taxes are something we hear about a lot when it comes to lottery prizes. And we’ve also heard players say they’d like to see cash jackpots with the withholding taxes paid. We’re excited to be offering that very feature when we re-launch Hot Lotto next month.

The numbers available to play in Hot Lotto will change with the new version of the game. Players will choose five balls from a pool of 47 (currently 39) and another number, called the Hot Ball®, from a separate pool of 19 (unchanged). The minimum Hot Lotto jackpot will be $1 million cash with state and federal withholding taxes paid, and will grow until someone wins it. Hot Lotto jackpot winners currently can choose to receive the prize in annuitized payments over 25 years or as a one-time cash payment, with state and federal withholding applied in either instance.

Hot Lotto plays will still cost $1, and the Sizzler option, which triples non-jackpot prizes, will still cost an extra $1 per play. And you’ll still be able to choose your own numbers or let the computer randomly select them.

In addition to the change in the jackpot, several other prize levels in the game also are increasing. The eight non-jackpot prize levels in the redesigned game will range from $2 (unchanged) for matching the Hot Ball alone, up to $30,000 (currently $10,000) for matching the first five numbers but missing the Hot Ball. All nonjackpot prizes will still triple with the Sizzler option, meaning a player would win $90,000 for matching the first five numbers with the Sizzler option added.

And here are the details about the upcoming promotion: When you purchase a 3X the Sizzle ticket, the lottery terminal will automatically generate a trailing ticket containing a special code that you can enter on the lottery website for a chance to win ethanol promotional checks for free fuel from the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

You can purchase 3X the Sizzle tickets from May 12 through July 13, and can enter the promotion until noon on July 23 at www.ialottery.com.

We’ll select 85 winners of ethanol checks in a drawing July 25. Fifty players will each win $100 in ethanol checks for free gas; 25 each will win $250 in checks; and 10 each will win $500 in checks. One more detail: The number of Hot Lotto drawings that you can purchase plays for in advance will decrease as we move toward the start of the revamped game. It will go back to the usual 10 drawings in advance once the redesign takes effect. We have to do that to make sure everyone has tickets with the right numbers available once the new game debuts.

January 09, 2013

A recent purchase by an Iowa jackpot winner is making national news in the world of sports. He's even got a magazine spread. That's because it wasn't just any purchase.

Wally Markham used part of his Hot Lotto winnings to buy the local golf course where he was a member, saving the club from a downhill slide following enormous damage from the 2008 floods in eastern Iowa.

Markham, a retiree from the Deere & Co. plant in Waterloo, won a $7.5 million Hot Lotto jackpot in November 2011. He said at the time that he planned to invest a large part of his winnings -- and he's done that.

But it turns out that another opportunity also would come his way, as detailed in the current January 2013 edition of GOLF Magazine. Click here to read GOLF Magazine's take on the story of Wally Markham and the La Porte City Golf Club.

August 21, 2012

There’s no mystery left in our “Mystery Millionaire”! We now know exactly who the big winners were in our live finale event on Extreme Sunday at the Iowa State Fair. It was a sea of yellow Mystery Millionaire T-shirts out there!

Click on the video above to see all the fun from yesterday’s give-away on the fairgrounds’ Grand Concourse. And, a complete list of all the prizes won by contestants, audience members and retailers is available here.

July 30, 2012

Time is running out for you to enter any eligible tickets you’ve got for the “Mystery Millionaire” promotion!

Sales have been good in the promo, with players making more than 223,000 eligible purchases during the sales period from July 1 through noon Saturday.

But our records show that thousands of those eligible tickets still haven’t been entered in the promotion – and there’s less than a day to go.

As of this morning, more than 184,000 tickets had been entered. That leaves more than 38,000 out there, and if you’re one of those people, we don’t want you to miss out on your chance to win up to $1 million!

Codes have to be entered on the lottery’s website by noon tomorrow to be eligible. Remember that you can use each ticket only once as an entry and you don’t have to keep your bonus Mystery Millionaire entry tickets once they’ve been entered.

The next step in the process comes Thursday, when we’ll select 49 winning tickets from among all those entered. Thirty-four players will immediately win prizes of $10,000 each. The 15 others will advance to the Mystery Millionaire Giveaway on Aug. 19 at the Iowa State Fair. Each of those contestants will win at least $25,000 during a live finale event and could win the grand prize of $1 million.

There will be prizes for audience members that day as well, so don’t miss out on the fun!

July 26, 2012

Entries for our current "Mystery Millionaire" promotion continue to roll in, but players only have a few more days to purchase their tickets.

You have until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, which is July 28, to purchase a special $5 Mystery Millionaire pack from your favorite Iowa Lottery retailer. So far we've seen over 100,000 entries, but we won't know final numbers until the end of the promotion.

In case you haven't purchased the pack yet, here's a reminder of what you'll get: an easy-pick Powerball with Power Play ticket, an easy-pick Hot Lotto Sizzler ticket, and along with those, a bonus Mystery Millionaire entry ticket with a code you'll enter on the lottery's website at www.ialottery.com.

If you do make an error, we cannot change the entries after they have been submitted for security purposes. But we will post the winners' information exactly as it was received when they entered. So if your name is selected, you should recognize the information when it is posted to our website.

On Aug. 2, the lottery will select 49 winning tickets in the promotion. Thirty-four of players whose entries are selected will win prizes of $10,000 each. The other 15 will advance to the Mystery Millionaire Giveaway on Aug. 19 at the Iowa State Fair. Each of the contestants at the Fair will win at least $25,000 and could win the grand prize of $1 million!

But lottery players aren't the only ones who can win big in the promotion - we'll also have prizes for the retailers that sell the winning tickets and the audience members at our live event.

The 15 semifinalists who attend the State Fair event each will receive four admission tickets to the Fair; two parking passes; hotel stay for two; admission for two to an exclusive dinner on Saturday, Aug. 18; and spending cash.

Here’s the run-down on our event at the Fair: The first 1,000 audience members who check in at the live show site on the Grand Concourse will get tickets to attend the give-away. Fifteen people in the audience that day will win prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000. And the retailers whose locations sell the winning tickets to the 15 semi-finalists on the stage at that live give-away show will win prizes from $500 up to $2,000.

When any of us is entering information online, sometimes our eyes can skip over slight mistakes. We've had a few players write or call in to us and ask if we can correct mistakes in spelling, phone numbers or addresses they made when entering Mystery Millionaire on the lottery’s website.

The short answer is no, we cannot do that. And here's why: As part of the security and integrity of the Iowa Lottery, we help protect our players by keeping their information private. Because of that, we cannot change your Mystery Millionaire entries after they have been submitted.

However, after the drawing has occurred, we will post the winners’ information exactly as it was received when it was entered. So if your name is selected, you should recognize the winners' list when it is posted to our website. If your name is selected, feel free to contact Lottery headquarters at 515-725-7900.

While we do make efforts to contact our winners, ultimately it is their responsibility to contact the Lottery to claim their prizes.

We've also had a few players tell us the website is not accepting their 13-digit Mystery Millionaire code. It's important that you take your time entering the code, as it can be easy to transpose numbers.

Finally, we had a great question come in about entering your personal information. When you enter promotions through the Lottery's VIP Club, your information will automatically populate in the entry form for you. Some of you have noticed that is not the case with Mystery Millionaire. That is because this particular promotion is not being run through the VIP Club. However, if you have more than one code to enter at once, there is a link at the bottom of the entry form that says "Enter more codes." Just click on that so you don't have to enter your information each time.

Just a reminder: You have until July 28 to purchase your $5 Mystery Millionaire pack and we're accepting entries until noon on July 31. You can check out all the rules and information on our website. Good luck!

July 03, 2012

Someone has got to be holding a leprechaun captive in Council Bluffs for all the luck we’ve seen over there lately!

We’ve written before about towns that have had a run of lottery luck, producing a series of winners in a short period of time.

If we hear the urban myth that “no one from here ever wins” coming from anyone in Council Bluffs, we’re going to laugh!

Since Aug. 1 of last year, a total of 20 major lottery winners have come out of Council Bluffs! In both April and June of this year, Council Bluffs saw $1 million Powerball® winners. And last week, Jerry Paulsen from Council Bluffs won a $100,000 prize playing Iowa’s $100,000 Cash Game.

Overall, in less than one year, lottery winners from the Council Bluffs area have taken home more than $2.5 million in prizes!

We want to give a shout-out to our latest lottery winner from Council Bluffs – Earl Sapp who won a $30,000 prize in the June 23 Hot Lotto® drawing.

So, next time you’re on our western border, grab yourself a ticket! It just might be your lucky day.

June 29, 2012

It seems like we've been talking about those unclaimed jackpots forever (it's really only been about six months), but now it's TIME TO GIVE THAT MONEY AWAY!

This weekend, the Iowa Lottery will kick off a summer promotion to give away $2 million in prize money from those two big jackpots that went unclaimed late last year. The "Mystery Millionaire" promotion starts Sunday. It will give lottery players who buy the $5 Mystery Millionaire pack the chance to win prizes from $10,000 up to $1 million! The whole thing will culminate with a live give-away show on Extreme Sunday, the final day of the Iowa State Fair.

Now, I'm sure you'll remember one of the prizes I've been talking about: It was that Hot Lotto® jackpot won in Des Moines that generated international headlines when lawyers representing a trust turned in the winning ticket with less than two hours to go before the prize would have expired in late December. But they ultimately withdrew the claim in January.

The money from those unclaimed jackpots goes back to the individual lotteries that sell the games in proportion to the percentage of sales that came from each state for those particular drawings. Iowa's share was a total of about $2 million.

With the unclaimed jackpots hitting in Hot Lotto and Powerball, the Mystery Millionaire promotion also will involve those games. From the start of business on Sunday through 11:59 p.m. on July 28, a special $5 Mystery Millionaire pack will be available from lottery terminals statewide. You'll get an easy-pick Powerball with Power Play ticket, an easy-pick Hot Lotto Sizzler ticket, and along with those, a bonus Mystery Millionaire entry ticket with a code you’ll enter on the lottery's website at www.ialottery.com.

You'll need to enter the code on the lottery's site by noon on July 31. You can use each ticket only once as an entry and you don't have to keep your bonus Mystery Millionaire entry tickets after you’ve entered them.

On Aug. 2, the lottery will select 49 winning tickets in the promotion. The folks who entered 34 of those tickets will win prizes of $10,000 each. The other 15 will advance to the Mystery Millionaire Give-away on Aug. 19 at the Iowa State Fair. Each of the contestants at the Fair will win at least $25,000 and could win the grand prize of $1 million!

But lottery players aren't the only ones who can win big in the promotion - we'll also have prizes for the retailers that sell the winning tickets and the audience members at our live event.

The 15 semifinalists who attend the State Fair event each will receive four admission tickets to the Fair; two parking passes; hotel stay for two; admission for two to an exclusive dinner on Saturday, Aug. 18; and spending cash.

Here's the run-down on our event at the Fair: The first 1,000 audience members who check in at the live show site on the Grand Concourse will get tickets to attend the give-away. Fifteen people in the audience that day will win prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000. And the retailers whose locations sell the winning tickets to the 15 semi-finalists on the stage at that live give-away show will win prizes from $500 up to $2,000.

We've been having fun saying "Millionaire at the Fair," and we'll hope to see you there as we cap off summer!

May 04, 2012

We blogged about it last month, and here’s the one-week-out reminder that time has almost run out for an unclaimed $10,000-winning Powerball ticket purchased last year in Council Bluffs.

Double-check your tickets – You never know, it could be you!

The $10,000-winning ticket was purchased at the No Frills Supermarket at 1817 W. Broadway in Council Bluffs for the Powerball drawing on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. It came close to winning it all that night, matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $10,000 prize. The winning numbers that night were: 9-17-32-43-45 and Powerball 31.

The winner or winners have until the close of business at 4 p.m. next Friday (May 11) to claim the prize at one of our offices (our locations are in Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, Mason City, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids).

In the lottery’s latest financial year, nearly $1.4 million in prizes went unclaimed in our lotto games. And what happens to that money? It goes into our prize pools for future games, so it will be used to pay prizes, just not those particular prizes that have expired.

Players here in Iowa have up to 365 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes in Powerball, Mega Millions and Hot Lotto. You have up to 90 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes in Iowa’s $100,000 Cash Game and our Pick 3 and Pick 4 games. If the expiration date falls on a weekend or holiday when our offices are closed, you have until the close of business on the next business day to turn in the ticket.

We don’t like to see our prizes go unclaimed! So, wherever you keep your tickets, check them out!

February 24, 2012

You heard it here first: We’re releasing the initial details today for the summer promotion we’re planning to give away the prize money from those two big jackpots that expired without being claimed late last year.

Now, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard about one of them. It was that Hot Lotto® jackpot won with a ticket purchased in Des Moines that made international headlines when lawyers representing a trust withdrew the claim for the prize after the ultimate winner or winners refused to answer basic lottery security questions. The winning ticket had been turned in Dec. 29 here at the lottery with less than two hours to go before the big prize would have expired, but the claim was withdrawn on Jan. 26, sending that prize into the ranks of the unclaimed.

With Hot Lotto and Powerball both being multi-state games, the money from these two unclaimed jackpots will go back to the individual lotteries that sell the games in proportion to the percentage of sales that came from each state. Iowa’s share of the unclaimed Hot Lotto jackpot is about $1.4 million, while our share of the unclaimed Powerball jackpot is about $600,000. So, we’re planning to give away about $2 million to Iowa players this summer.

Here in Iowa, the money from unclaimed prizes goes into the lottery’s prize pools for future games, so it will be used to pay prizes, just not those particular prizes that have expired.

This is a very unusual situation. None of us here at the lottery can ever remember a time when two big jackpots expired back-to-back like this. That money was bound for players, and that’s where it ultimately will go through this promotion. The state received its share of the money from lottery proceeds back when the tickets were sold.

The final details are still being ironed out, but we’re looking at a promotion that will start in July and be capped off with an event in August at the Iowa State Fair to give away prizes of up to $1 million cash. We’re focusing on a promotion designed for those who play Hot Lotto and Powerball, since those are the two games involved. Maybe we’ll call it “Millionaire at the Fair.” What do you think?

In addition to prizes for lotto players, we’re also talking about giving audience members that day at the Fair a chance to win prizes, as well as the retailers that sell the winning tickets in the promotion. Whatever it is, it should be a fun way to cap off the summer!

Hi again, gang! We have gotten a ton of comments to this blog entry, and we love to hear from you, so keep ‘em coming! I’m afraid, however, that a lot of folks are posting to this entry without reading our previous responses in the comments chain. So, I’ve posted another response in the comments section, but I’m updating this blog entry today, too, so everyone can see what’s being discussed.

UPDATED April 6, 2012

The plans for our upcoming summer contest aren’t finalized yet, but we are going to be selecting a lot of winners to give away nearly $2 million! Here’s the information we have so far, but as I’ve already said, please understand that we’re still putting together the final details. We’ll have more to share as the time gets closer. What we’re talking about is a lot like the raffle concept some of you have mentioned here in your comments, so great minds think alike!

We anticipate having a contest that will begin sometime in July. To be eligible to enter, you’ll make a special $5 lotto purchase in Powerball® and Hot Lotto®. We’ll have a special button added to our lottery terminals to generate the plays. You’ll get one $2 Powerball ticket with the Power Play option (for a total of $3) and one Hot Lotto ticket with the Sizzler option (for a total of $2). Along with that will come what we call a “trailing ticket” that will contain an entry code for the contest. You’ll go to www.ialottery.com and enter that code to be eligible for the contest drawing.

Anyone who makes one of those purchases anywhere in Iowa and then enters their code can be part of the fun! And those tickets you’ll buy will of course give you the chance to win Powerball and Hot Lotto prizes along the way, too!

Then in early August, we’ll hold a drawing to determine 49 semi-finalists. Thirty-four of those folks will each win a $10,000 prize in that drawing. But 15 of those lucky winners will get to be part of a big reveal, which is slated for the last day of the Iowa State Fair. Those 15 people will each win a prize ranging from $25,000 up to $1 million at that event!

And if you are one of the folks eligible for that State Fair event, the lottery is putting together what we hope will be a really fun trip for you and a guest. We’re planning a celebration dinner, we’ll put you up in a hotel for the night and give you Fair admission tickets and parking passes. We’ll also give each of the Lucky 15 some cash to cover travel expenses they might have.

If you don’t want to make the trip yourself or have a scheduling conflict, you can always appoint a proxy to be there in your stead or we can appoint one for you. No worries there!

We chose the Fair as the location for the big reveal because we want there to be a huge audience to cheer our winners on. And we’re planning some small prizes for some of the folks in the audience that day just to add to the fun and keep things interesting!

Yep, this is a lot like a raffle, but with a lot more hoop-la. We like hoop-la. ☺

We received confirmation a little after 6 p.m. last night that the claim for the ticket was being withdrawn. It’s definitely the real winning ticket and it was worth millions of dollars. We wanted to pay the prize and have said repeatedly that we were ready to pay the prize, but we needed just some basic information before we could do so.

Ultimately, the folks representing Hexham Investments Trust said they wouldn’t provide the information, so they were walking away.

I’ve been asked several different times by reporters today what we think/how we feel/what our reaction is. We’re disappointed that this prize won’t be paid. But at the same time, we focused throughout the process of doing the right thing and wanted to be thoughtful, methodical and careful in our approach. I would hope that’s what everyone would want us to do when there are millions of dollars on the line. And there definitely were in this instance!

So, now what happens to the money? The total involved is the $10.75 million in cash that was on hand from the sale of tickets for that particular Hot Lotto jackpot drawing. The money will be returned to the 15 lotteries that sell the Hot Lotto game in proportion to the percentage of sales that came from each state.

Here in Iowa, the money will ultimately go into the Iowa Lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions. We’re talking about having a promotion in the spring to give away the money, maybe something with the theme that “everyone deserves a second chance”! We can have some fun with it. We haven’t had a chance yet to work through those details, but we will do so as soon as we can.

“This has been and continues to be the strangest situation that we can recall in the 26-year history of our lottery.

We were excited when the Hot Lotto jackpot-winning ticket was presented in December and we were hopeful that we’d soon be paying out the big prize to the lucky winner. That has not happened. And in fact, late this afternoon, the jackpot claim from Hexham Investments Trust of Bedford, N.Y., was withdrawn. We received confirmation of the claim withdrawal shortly after 6 p.m. today from the Davis Brown Law Firm here in Des Moines.

As you likely know, the winning ticket for the Hot Lotto jackpot won in December 2010 in Des Moines was turned in here at the lottery with less than two hours to go before the prize would have expired. The winning ticket was signed by a trustee on behalf of Hexham Investments Trust, but no member of the trust was present when the ticket was brought to the lottery by two lawyers on Dec. 29.

That day, and since that time, we have been requesting basic information so we could confirm that the winning ticket was legally purchased, legally possessed and legally presented. This standard information is routinely requested of jackpot winners here in Iowa as part of our security processes to comply with both Iowa law and our lottery’s game rules. Those details usually are received within minutes at the time a winning ticket is presented, not in weeks or months. It has been 13 months since the purchase of this ticket and the drawing in which it won the jackpot.

Those specifics in this instance were not shared with us when the ticket was brought to the lottery, and have still not been shared with us nearly a month later. We established 3 p.m. CST tomorrow as the deadline for that information to be provided so we could bring closure to the situation and move forward.

On Monday, we had informed the trust’s local counsel at the Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines of today’s deadline and specified in a letter the information we were requesting. Throughout this week, we remained in contact with lawyers at Davis Brown about our request. We received a letter from the law firm on Wednesday, specifying that if jackpot were to be paid to the trust, all of the winnings would be donated to charity. However, the specifics we sought were not provided.

The Lottery sent a reply to Davis Brown on Thursday, declining to pay the prize because of our concerns about the legality of the purchase, possession, and presentation of this ticket. A copy of that correspondence has been provided today.

During conversations with the lottery, Mr. Shaw specified that he is not the beneficiary of Hexham Investments Trust, only its lawyer and trustee. He also specified that he is not the person who purchased the winning ticket in Des Moines, and stated that the recipient of Hexham Investments Trust was a corporation in the country of Belize. He stated that he ultimately did not know the identity of the winner(s).

Through this process, we have tried our best to remain open and transparent, while protecting the integrity of the Iowa Lottery and its games.”

January 23, 2012

Here’s the latest update on the Hot Lotto® jackpot claim. After Iowa Lottery officials met with representatives of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office Monday, Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich set a deadline by which the necessary information must be presented to lottery officials.

The deadline Rich set is for 3 p.m. CST Friday (Jan. 27). If the information the lottery’s security team requires is not shared by that time, the Iowa Lottery will deny the prize payment.

This is the first time the lottery has experienced a situation like this in its 26-year history, and we will continue our work, understanding that the security and integrity of the Iowa Lottery and its games cannot be compromised.

We’re extremely glad that the winning ticket has been turned in. We look forward to learning more details about the situation. However, the jackpot prize has not been paid – and will not be paid – until the lottery has been able to complete the security process for this jackpot win.

January 20, 2012

The situation involving the Hot Lotto jackpot that was claimed just before it expired last month took another turn this week with court documentation from New York and Delaware about a person named Crawford Shaw. As you likely know, a man named Crawford Shaw is the trustee for Hexam Investments Trust, the owner of the jackpot-winning ticket that was purchased here in Des Moines in December 2010.

A person named Crawford Shaw is associated with criminal proceedings and bankruptcy filings in New York and Delaware. What does that have to do with the jackpot-winning ticket? We don’t know. It could be nothing. But the fact that the information exists means it is something that the Iowa Lottery will look into as the situation progresses.

We’ve said from the beginning that there are three thresholds that must be met: We need information to ensure that the jackpot-winning ticket was legally presented, legally possessed and legally purchased. That information has not been shared with us here at the lottery and we therefore have not paid the prize and do not plan to do so until we have that information.

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As the lottery’s vice president of external relations, I’m a member of the senior management team at the Iowa Lottery, where I’ve worked since 1999. I’ve spent my years at the lottery learning as much as I can about all the ins and outs of the lottery industry. I’ll put that knowledge to work here so I can share the behind-the-scenes details with you!